Society Brooklyn, the two-tower rental complex looming over the Gowanus waterfront, just locked in a hefty $370 million refinancing that keeps the neighborhood’s post-rezoning building boom humming along.
JLL Capital Markets arranged the package, a three-year bridge loan from Brookfield Asset Management, for a joint venture led by Property Markets Group and The Carlyle Group. The financing is secured by the 517-unit complex and signals that large new multifamily projects in Brooklyn can still draw serious capital even as they finish leasing up in a choppier market.
According to ConnectCRE, JLL senior managing directors Christopher Peck and Peter Rotchford, along with senior director Nicco Lupo, led the deal team that arranged the facility on behalf of the borrowers. ConnectCRE reports that the loan is a three-year bridge from Brookfield and quotes Peck saying, “Society Brooklyn demonstrates the caliber of development that’s defining the new Gowanus.” The outlet frames the transaction as a sign of investor confidence in large-scale multifamily projects in the area.
Property Markets Group highlights Society Brooklyn as a two-tower development with 517 apartments and a slate of resident amenities on its project page. PMG focuses on lifestyle features, while Brownstoner details the scale of the project: roughly 594,000 square feet overall, about 57,000 square feet of retail, and towers of 344 and 173 units respectively, with roughly a quarter of the apartments reserved as affordable housing.
What It Means For Gowanus
Developers and planners have positioned Society Brooklyn as a cornerstone of the neighborhood’s post-rezoning reinvention, tying private development to new public waterfront access and retail. New York YIMBY reported that the project includes a newly opened waterfront esplanade with public green space and amenities that link residents and neighbors to the Gowanus Canal promenade.
Those public-facing pieces help explain why an institutional lender was willing to put up a sizable bridge loan in a higher-rate environment. The bet is that a fully leased twin-tower complex with retail and canalfront access will look a lot more attractive, whether for permanent financing or a future buyer.
Financing Background
The refinancing is the latest chapter in a layered capital stack. In 2023, JLL arranged a $335 million construction loan and a $165 million equity recapitalization as PMG and Carlyle pushed the project forward, according to The Real Deal. The new three-year bridge from Brookfield appears designed to give the owners time to lease up ground-floor retail and stabilize rents before they pursue permanent financing or a securitization.
For nearby residents and local businesses, the fresh capital could speed out the remaining retail build-outs and the broader waterfront experience while keeping the developer’s long-term play intact. Brookfield’s shorter bridge term also points toward a later, larger permanent loan or a potential sale once the property settles into full stabilization.
ConnectCRE first reported the refinancing and provided the lender and arranger details cited here. We will be watching public filings and leasing updates as Society Brooklyn moves from lease-up into its next phase.
